The Reversal
by Aisukuri-Mu Studio
Summary: .:E:. Jack realizes the Bogeyman is right. What the heck is he doing, trying to be a Guardian when very clearly he's not? When Pitch, Jack, and a character that has a history with the Guardians combine forces, the Guardians are no match... unless they can get a bit of help. No OCs, implied Rainbow Snowcone/Frostbite.
1. Fun

**Chapter One:** Fun

Standing atop the cold and barren glacier, Jack Frost stares at the Essence of Darkness before him with wide, cold eyes, his mind whirling with confusion. It isn't true … it isn't …

Pitch senses his hesitation and sighs, shaking his head. "My dear boy," he says with something akin to _compassion _in his voice, "you never really thought that those Guardians actually _accepted _you, did you?"

Jack grits his teeth, clenching his staff as if it's a sharpened sword – although at the moment, it's more of a shield than a weapon. "What's it to you?" he demands, holding it out in front of him as far as it will go.

Pitch takes a step forward – Jack takes a step back. "Don't be so naïve," Pitch chuckles, and the Darkness seeps from his being in grains of sand, seeds of nightmares. "You could never truly be a Guardian, Jack. After all, you're the Winter Spirit."

This catches Jack off-guard. Without even realizing it, he lowers his staff. "What is that supposed to mean?" he demands, careful not to allow his voice to shake. To show fear or hesitation to Pitch is to show weakness. It is to be defeated.

Pitch raises a brow. Jack knows he's shown weakness anyway from the smirk that slowly takes the villain's face, though he isn't sure how he did. "The Winter Spirit," Pitch says again, his deep voice dragging out his answer in a relaxed manner, as if he had all the time in the world. "Surely you understand, don't you? The cold kills. People build fires and homes and huddle under blankets to avoid it.

"No; it'd be more accurate to say that _you_ kill, Jack Frost. Humans do those things to avoid _you_. The winter you bring with you has delivered many to hypothermia, to starvation – and for what? For you to have your 'fun?'"

Jack gasps; his free hand goes to clutch at his head, as if Pitch has sent a nightmare his way. But Pitch hasn't – not in the physical sense, at least.

Inside, it's what Jack fears the most – has always known but always denied. Jack's been terrified of death, of causing it; he's always been scared of being the source of despair and heartache. But Pitch is right; Jack _hates_ it with every bone in his body, but Pitch is _right._

"So you _do_ understand," Pitch says with a grin on his face. He steps closer to him, puts an arm on Jack's shoulder.

This time, he doesn't move away.

"Look at the masterpiece we have created," he goes on as he gestures with his free hand. Jack follows the movement and his eyes land on the strange mixture of Pitch's nightmares and his own frost, the fearsome ice sculpture he hadn't intended to create. Pitch's smile is blithe and strangely tepid, in a way. "Darkness and cold have always gone hand in hand."

"…yes," Jack murmurs after a moment, a strange confidence in his voice that he's unfamiliar with – the hand that clutches his head drops. "They have, haven't they?"

Jack doesn't have to think of their collaboration as fear-inspiring. In a way, it's actually rather beautiful – two of mankind's greatest fears united at long last.

Perhaps _this_ is what Jack is meant for. Because he sure as hell isn't meant to be a Guardian.

Yes, yes; of course! It's always been right there in front of him! If Jack can't convince others to _see_ him by making fun for them_,_ he can convince them to _fear_ him – and that can be his own way of having 'fun'!

A grin finds its way onto his face, and Jack takes a step toward the almost-sculpture, twirling his staff in his hands as he does. Pitch stands behind him, watching him, curious.

Jack lifts the curved stick, points it at the solidified mixture – and swings it. Like it lives, the sculpture extends, growing – no, it's more that it's begun to _fly_ where Jack directs it, twisting and turning as he does. First it goes around him, spiraling like a vine, and then with no warning, Jack sends it shooting back up into the sky.

To Jack's delight, the darkness encased in the prototype moves with it. Through this indirect method, he too can control a fraction of Pitch's power.

Pitch, who had been standing dumbstruck until now, finally speaks. "What in the world are you doing, Jack?"

"What am I _doing?"_ he repeats, incredulous – but the grin never leaves. "I'm having _fun, _Pitch! Look at this! Just – just _look_ at it!"

Pitch raises an eyebrow as Jack continues painting with his staff, using the entire world as his canvas. Jack lets out a laugh as, for his finale, he separates the ice into two, thrusts them into the sky, and when they crash back together –

_Boom!_ There's an explosion high above them, and the darkness and the ice fall together, cascading like snow onto the area.

To Pitch's surprise, the darkness and the frost have melded together entirely, no longer two almost-elements, but one entity. They do not fall separate, but united.

"Black ice," Pitch murmurs in disbelief. How odd.

And for that moment, Pitch cannot help but smile. When was the last time he was truly happy? He can't even begin to recall. Perhaps when he was human – when he wasn't so intent on striking fear in the hearts of others.

For this entire time, Pitch has been alone. Isolated. Forgotten. But with Jack he is no longer that, he is no longer just a memory of fear. Pitch is now something _important_ to someone, he is now something _valued._

Fun, hm? If this is what "fun" is, then Pitch has no doubt that he and Jack will get along very well. Together, they most surely can overthrow the Guardians; together, they're unstoppable.

"Let's return to my hideout," Pitch decides, once Jack is done playing with their creation. "We've got some work to do."

**Elsa's Note**: Welcome to my first multi-chapter fic! I hope you're looking forward to the next part.

This is a bit of housekeeping. As a heads-up, this fic will contain implied Frostbite (Jack x Tooth for those new to the fandom, but you may ignore all implications if you wish and just see their interactions as expressions of how they are close compadres), violence beyond cartoon violence (i.e. what was shown in the movie), and a sizable amount of feels. You have been warned.

Oh, and of course, I solemnly swear that this fic will be finished! You can trust me, readers – with or without a plethora of reviews, this fic will get done!


	2. Reunion

**Chapter Two: **Reunion

Jack is lying rather comfortably over the back of one of Pitch's night-mares (which Jack found to be a rather clever pun) when he feels rather than sees the signal. A pinch of the darkness is shot into his heart, and he lets out a groan. Although he and Pitch had practiced that, he still finds it a good deal uncomfortable, as if he's allowing himself to be corrupted by madness.

For a moment, the only thing that goes through Jack's head will be the reaction of the Guardians, how his former friends will think of his defection. If they choose to hate him, well, he can't say that he'd blame them.

But Pitch had sworn to Jack that he was only to be used as back-up, for when and if Pitch was overpowered. It had seemed unlikely to happen, so Jack had just prepared himself for a night of relaxation.

Now, though, he has to worry. Not that he should. Of course he shouldn't. Why should he care what they think? They were never really his friends, anyway. How could they, people who were determined to protect children, be friends with someone like him, who stole the lives of others?

So Jack takes a deep breath, sits up so that he's riding the mare correctly, and caresses the mane of the beast. "Take me to Pitch," he whispers, the command firm. The mare lets out a shrill cry and then, without warning, dives down almost vertically, beneath the clouds. Jack yelps and clenches onto her for dear life, unused to such swift movement. The only thing he'd felt like this was when North forced their posse onto the sleigh, and even then it had been enjoyable.

For some reason, this wasn't quite the same.

In the span of a second, Jack finds that the night-mare has escorted him to the Warren. Pitch is cornered against one of the huge egg-shaped boulders, all of the Guardians standing around him with what Jack can only imagine are glares filled with hate. Pitch catches sight of Jack, and after a moment, he grins.

"Jack, will you finish up here?" he calls, completely ruining any chance Jack had of a surprise attack. Pitch's words cause the Guardians to turn, to stare at Jack – and Pitch seizes the moment to escape, clinging to the night-mare which had brought the Winter Spirit.

"Finish up?" Bunnymund repeats with a scoff. "What's that supposed to mean? As if Jack would…"

Jack tightens his grip on his staff, and lifts it up. The action causes Bunnymund to stop where he's at, and his eyes narrow. "Jack…" His voice is edgy; he can tell Jack's no longer on their side.

"What is going on?" North demands, looking at Jack Frost as if he's nothing but a child. "Jack, is something wrong?"

Jack grits his teeth. Of course. North doesn't even look at him with respect as a colleague. They just treat him like — like —

Then Tooth suddenly appears next to him, having flown quickly across the gap between them, and she places a hand on his shoulder. "Jack, dear," she whispers soothingly, "we won't understand if you don't talk to us."

He glances at her out of the corner of his eye, the touch making him bristle. He's always had a soft spot for Tooth, but for her to join in this sickening treatment—!

Jack spins to her and slams the butt of the staff into her chest, knocking her back at least a few hundred feet. "Tooth!" he hears the others cry out; and then Jack breaks into a run, heading straight for them.

The blades of grass that his feet touch become frostbitten as he dances across them. Jack breathes deeply as he charges, struggling to find his center.

_Just have fun, Jack._

A grin takes his face, and Jack lets out a laugh as he swings his staff. Shards of ice condense out of the water in the grass, causing a good few blades to die, and then are hurled towards North and Bunnymund. Bunnymund jumps out of the way, but North's size works against him – he's now sporting several new incisions, his clothes cut through.

This is just the beginning of his attack. He hears Bunnymund try to say something to him as he reaches for his boomerang – Jack swings his staff, and ice forms around the rabbit's wrists, freezing them together. North screeches and charges with his dual swords, but Jack is nimble and Jack is quick, and he avoids his slices – which obviously do not have the heart in them that Jack would like – and he sends an explosion of ice North's way, causing the man to tumble over.

Bunnymund wrenches out of the melting cuffs and finally swings his boomerang. Jack dodges, sending another round of sharp ice projectiles. Bunnymund ducks these, growls and says, "Jack, you'd better stop killing my Warren, or I'll—"

Jack doesn't hear the end of it; he gets banged in the head with the boomerang and, disoriented, he stumbles forward, groaning as he holds his head. He struggles to keep his eyes open, and he sees five Bunnymunds coming right at him—

He stumbles backwards this time, trying to run while his vision is still a mess but he goes in no particular direction, just _I need to move I need to get out of here I need to stop and get my bearings and _think_ before I…_

Jack runs straight into North, who stands with his hands on his hips. Jack sees four of him before his head finally screws back on straight, and when Jack lifts his staff to fend off the huge man—

Bunnymund grabs him from behind by the hem of his shirt, lifting him up off the ground roughly. The action takes Jack by surprise and he lets out a yelp, almost losing his grip on his staff; North confiscates it before he can get a firm hold on it again.

"What in blazes do you think you're doing, frostbite?" Bunnymund growls, though he sounds more frustrated than anything else. Jack resists the urge to yell; yet again they are treating him like a spoiled child!

They don't know what it's like. They don't know what it is to have no one believe in you. They don't know what it means to be Jack Frost!

Jack can't help it anymore; he lets out a snarl and kicks Bunnymund's knee, and when the force of it causes the Pookah to drop him, Jack grabs the staff. North scowls and refuses to let go of it, but Jack just grins darkly at him as his power begins to come into effect. He begins to freeze North's feet to the ground.

"Watch out, big guy," Jack says teasingly. North looks confused, and Jack just gestures to the man's feet.

North follows the gesture and lets out a cry of surprise, dropping the staff. Jack snatches it, lifts it up, and almost has a chance to freeze North entirely—

There's a sharp pain in the back of his head, and Jack drops to his knees and his hands, struggling against the blackness at the edge of his vision. He groans loudly, and when he glances up he sees all three of them staring down at him.

Tooth has a sizable rock in her hands, and pity in her eyes.

Finally, Jack loses this fight; he collapses entirely onto the ground, his will taken by the darkness. For a moment the Guardians can only stare at their fallen ex-comrade, unsure of what to do.

Then North sighs. "Alright," he says with a small, firm nod. "Let's bring Jack to the Workshop. The yetis will guard him."

Bunnymund gets to work immediately, tying an elastic rubber band around Jack's wrists after pulling them behind his back. Tooth shoots him a look, to which he scowls. "Oi," he says in his defense, "better to be on the safe side."

Tooth shakes her head and picks up Jack's staff. The wound he'd inflicted on her chest still hurts terribly; she can still feel the frost searching through her body, her soul, trying to overcome the beat of her heart.

But the frost isn't malevolent. Though it's trying to freeze her from the inside out, she can tell it's not an evil power.

It's just scared.

* * *

**Elsa's Note**: It took forever to decide the ending for this chapter… But after much inner conflict I decided to have Jack lose. I wrote an ending in which Jack won, but none of my betas seemed to like that one as much. Even though it got really intense… (sigh)

Who knows, though? Maybe after this is complete, I may post scrapped writings at the end (if there are any more than just this one)… We'll see.

That's it for this one! I hope you all stick around for the next update! ;3


	3. The Coward's Way Out

**Chapter Three**: The Coward's Way Out

For a long time, Toothiana sits in front of Jack's restrained body while the other Guardians discuss their next course of action: dealing with Jack, should speaking with him prove futile. From what she can hear, Bunnymund wants them to just tie up Jack and leave him somewhere hot and dry, so that he isn't able to get a good grip on his powers and come after them again. North disagrees. He thinks his yetis will be able to restrain Jack for the remainder of their conflict with Pitch, given that Jack's never been able to get past them before, when he'd been trying to break into North's Workshop.

Part of Tooth wants to join the conversation. She doesn't _need_ to be here, standing guard over an unconscious boy. North is right in that the yetis are more than capable of handling him, even without the rope. But she can't bear to leave his side. Not when he's suffering like this.

She can tell he's in pain by the way he fought them so … so … so _savagely._ He used a good number of dirty moves in their battle, freezing North's feet to the ground and using the precious grass of the Warren against Bunnymund, and that isn't like him at all. It doesn't make sense, for him to fight like that unless he's getting desperate.

But knowing that he's struggling right now, though she does not know what, makes Tooth remain put. She agrees with North, and should Bunnymund win she will fight that decision. The last thing Jack needs right now is isolation and a feeling of being abandoned.

Jack groans suddenly, and the debate going on in the other room silences. Tooth doesn't even notice; her eyes light up as Jack, though still only half-conscious, tries to pry away from the yetis' grasp. He's all right, he's all right!

Though she hadn't said anything, Tooth had worried beyond belief that Jack was injured beyond repair from the rock she hit him with. To discover that he hadn't been so severely injured is music to her ears – or, perhaps, teeth to her eyes.

"Let me go!" Jack all but orders, and without any sort of warning his effort suddenly increases, kicking at the yetis who are holding him back. "Can't you hear me?! I _said_—"

He then catches sight of Tooth, and he stops, staring at her for a moment. She can feel her cheeks heat up and, unable to find the words to express her regret, she looks away. What could she say? She injured him, and she wouldn't be surprised if Jack decides to give her the same loathing stare he gives North and Bunnymund.

She hears sound of the door opening and closing behind her, and the other two are at her side in a moment. Bunnymund is the first to speak – he chuckles and shakes his head, as if Jack's sorry state amused him. "Sorry 'bout tying your hands like that, frostbite. It's just, y'know. Safety first and all that."

Jack seethes, his beautiful teeth baring at Bunnymund, and Tooth in particular notices that he's displaying his canines. Why? Was Bunnymund truly that much of a threat to him?

"Tell them to let me go," Jack demands, anger and fear seeping its way into his voice. "I can't do much if my hands are tied and you've taken my staff, can I?"

"Ah, I would not be so sure," North answers, crossing his arms over his chest. "You are stronger than you look, Jack Frost, and more cunning than Bunny gives you credit for. I will not take chance."

Jack scowls and looks away now, and Tooth can see him shaking. Her eyes soften, and she flutters forward. "Tooth—" She hushes Bunnymund by holding up a single hand, palm toward him. Though she's not looking at him, she can almost hear his ears flatten against his head.

Very gently, she lifts Jack's chin up so that he meets her eyes. Truth be told, she's not all that surprised to see the tears in his eyes. He's in pain…

"Jack," she says with all the serenity of a mother, "this isn't like you. Tell us how we can help you right now."

His eyes widen, his jaw drops. It's as if he hadn't expected us to want to help him, Tooth notes, and the observation hurts her. Why…? After everything, why would Jack believe they wouldn't be willing to help him through his hardships?

"…It isn't _like_ me," Jack repeats after a beat of silence, and then he grins. It's the kind of grin that Tooth never wanted to see on his face—angry, sad, and above all, hopeless. His eyes begin to shift, though she can't tell to what – they're changing, and it's malevolent. "Right. Because you'd know what's _like_ me and what isn't, wouldn't you?"

"We know you well enough to know that you're good person," North says, his brows furrowed in confusion. He's picked up on the change in Jack's tone, as well. "We do not know why you side with man like Pitch."

"You said it yourselves," Jack replies – though he hasn't turned his eyes from the fairy in front of him. "Remember, when I was dragged into here to become a Guardian against my will? I'd make a terrible Guardian, because there's not a single child that believes in me.

"But if I'm with Pitch, it's totally different!" He laughs now, and it sends chills up everyone's spines. "Now I know that he and I are invincible! Together cold and dark and fear will rule the land – and they can't be afraid of something they don't believe in, now, can they? They'll _have_ to believe in me!"

As he rants, Bunnymund begins to inch closer. Tooth has dropped her hand from Jack's chin, stunned, but Jack doesn't even seem to notice. He keeps going, on and on, in a state of hysteria, "…and that's more of a future than any of you have _ever_ offered me! What made _any_ of you think that I'd…"

Bunnymund knocks Jack upside the head. The hit is light, especially for the Pookah, but Jack almost collapses – only the yetis keep him upright. But that's not what catches Bunnymund's interest, nor is it the reason Bunnymund felt inclined to box him like that.

It's the sand that falls to the ground.

Tooth kneels down and picks up a handful, bringing it up with her as she stands again. It was black…?

"The hell?" Bunnymund scowls, glancing at it over her shoulder. "What's Pitch's bloody sand doin' here?"

Tooth shakes her head and North is at her other side, examining it for just one moment. "How curious," North murmurs, looking back at Jack. "And what is he doing with _this_, I wonder?"

As if in response, the sand begins to move. Slowly, as though it were riding the wind, it leaves Tooth's hand and it leaves the ground, and as one entity it swirls around Jack—

And then it dives into his heart, and Jack's eyes flutter open instantly, though they are an odd, dirty shade of yellow compared to the bright, icy blue they actually are.

_"_Stravinsky," North mutters under his breath, his eyes wide with realization. Tooth doesn't know what he's just understood, but she knows that there's something wrong with him. Jack isn't really _Jack_ right now.

"What's goin' on?" Bunnymund demands, glaring at the golden-eyed boy in front of them. "Where's Jack?"

Jack lets out a hostile, deranged laugh. "Ohh, don't you worry, you silly, _stupid_ kangaroo_._ Your insignificant, oh-so precious companion is still right here. Right inside."

This Jack looks at Tooth now, who, when she's standing with her feet on the ground, is right about his height. "And oh, how he's screaming," this Jack continues, grinning like some sort of animal. "He's such a fearful little thing. He's scared of just about everything, you know. Even water. It's just _so_ easy to convince him to give in a little. It's _so_ easy to get him to surrender to his nightmares."

He laughs again.

"Of course, he's regretting it now."

Bunnymund snarls, lifting up a boomerang. "Let go of 'im if ya know what's good for ya!"

This Jack snickers now. "Aw, now, _Bunny_. You know as well as I do that you wouldn't dare touch me, now, don't you? After all, what's dear old _Jack_ going to think when he sees his body a bloody mess and realizes you're the one who did it?"

Bunnymund looks like he's about to strangle the Winter Spirit but says nothing more. North scowls. "So, Pitch is controlling Jack," he says with a small nod. Of course. Tooth realizes how stupid she's been for believing otherwise. Jack would never…

"Tsk, tsk." If his arms were free, this Jack would probably be waving them in the air. "That's not right either, you know. Sure, Pitch's got a bit of… _influence_—"—cue an obnoxious chuckle—"—shall we say, but I'm just as much Jack as the one you know. I'm just, ah… calmer, more organized in the head."

_"Liar."_

This Jack turns his head and meets Tooth's pink gaze again, but now she's glaring at him, her heart burning with a hatred she hadn't known she was capable of. "Jack's not the coward that _you_ are," she growls.

A moment of tense, grating silence, and Jack chuckles again. "Oh-_ho_," he says with a huge grin. "I'm impressed you've got so much faith in the lonely little adolescent here, but you're wrong. There's absolutely nothing redeemable about me. Not one single thing."

He smirks now. "So I've got absolutely no problem doing _this._"

Without warning the rope that bound Jack's hands behind his back shatters, and he slips out of the jacket the yetis were holding onto, catapults himself into the air, lands safely on the other side of the group and creates ice for him to skate on in his bare feet as he races out.

North has only just taken out his dual swords when Jack's made it out of the room, and he growls. "Raise the alarm!" he calls to the yeti who'd been holding Jack. "Emergency lockdown! Don't let him get away!"

Phil scowls and throws Jack's sweater to the side, slamming his fist into a nearby button. Bunnymund and North have already taken off after Jack, and Tooth is quick to give chase as well. Huge, iron sheets cover the windows, descending outside the Workshop as they rush to defend every exit.

Jack isn't dissuaded; he dodges one of Bunny's boomerangs, knocking over one stack of miniature robots as he does (angering Phil and the other yetis a good deal more than he intended), and darts for the doors to the Workshop; the only exit yet to be blocked.

One of the yetis jump in front of him, and Jack tries to screech to a stop a moment too late – his momentum propels him forward, crashing into him. The yeti grabs him, putting him in a deadlock; Jack yelps and squirms and tries to break free, his eyes dead-set on the doors.

Then the light that shines through their windows is cut, and the sound of iron squealing to a stop is sent through the facility, and Jack stops struggling. The yeti smirks, seeing the others catch up and believing Jack to have submitted, releases him –

– and, of course, Jack rips away and charges right at the Guardians, intending to catch them off-guard and charge right past them.

North is the first to react and slams the hilt of one of his dual blades into the back of Jack's head. The effect is immediate, and Jack stumbles to the ground, his eyes staring wide up into North's.

North, for his part, seems frustrated and confused. He puts one sword down, the other pointed straight at the boy, and he demands, "What is it that you are so afraid of?"

Jack glances around frantically, as if searching for something — and then an all-too familiar voice fills the room.

"Hello again, Guardians."

* * *

**Elsa's Note:** The first appearance of my interpretation of "Dark Jack"... I'm really sorry if this is overdone! Please everyone forgive how cliche it is. TAT

And don't forget to review! Critique and flames are both welcome.


	4. An Old Friend

**Chapter Four: **An Old Friend

Jack can't hold back a huge laugh as he makes eye contact with her. Finally! He wants to cry out. It sure took you long enough! But he doesn't say this, because as she helps him to his feet, he can see that her eyes are still locked on the Guardians—or rather, one in particular: North.

"It can't be," Bunny murmurs as he stares at her, his arms going limp in disbelief. "It's impossible."

_"Katherine?"_ North utters out, his voice shaken. Jack glances back at the young woman who is at his side, and she bristles at the name.

"I haven't been called that in a long time," she says, her brow crinkling in thought. "These days I am usually called _Baba Yaga_."

"Oh, Katherine," Tooth says now, fluttering forward close enough to put her hand on the girl's cheek. "Katherine, I can't believe it's you. You're all grown up now. We all thought…"

"You all thought that Pitch had done away with me, I'm sure." Katherine takes a step back, bringing Jack with her, though Jack cannot understand why. How is it that they know her? What is it that they want from her?

"Is it true?" North asks suddenly, and he too steps forward. Katherine takes another step in retreat. "What Pitch – what Pitch said when he took you. Have you become…?"

Katherine chuckles then, and the sound sends chills up Jack's spine. They're good chills, though. Jack enjoys having someone like her on his side. It's what she says next, though, that startles him.

"Yes," she says, and the smile on her face is soft and almost motherly. "I have become his Darkling Princess."

Then Katherine whistles, and through the huge doors charges an enormous goose. Jack starts, because he can't remember Pitch ever saying she had such a… companion—but the goose lowers itself in front of Katherine, and she takes Jack's hand.

"Get on," she commands, urging him forward. "I'll help you up."

Jack obliges her, though more out of a sense of helplessness than anything else. Right now, he's ever-so weak, and he can't escape the Guardians without her. It doesn't mean he trusts this godforsaken bird that, for all intents and purposes, shouldn't be allowed to exist by Mother Nature's standards. (Its size is just—how does that even _work?_)

Still, though, as Katherine climbs up after him, all of the Guardians rush forward, and all of their voices sound at once: "But what about—" "Wait, we just saw you after so long—" "You can't _possibly_ be on his side—"

Katherine doesn't spare them a second glance as she leans down and whispers into the goose's ear. It stands and exits the workshop without a moment's hesitation, and even Bunnymund can't catch up when it takes to the skies.

Jack laughs again, holding tightly to the back of the goose as they soar, the wind rushing not by them but _with_ them, and Jack grins now that his companion has arrived, too. "This is _incredible,_" he breathes out, and Katherine does not say anything, but the way that she runs a black-gloved hand through her dirty-blond hair tells Jack that she seems a bit flustered.

"Thank you," she mutters at last, but her voice is so small that Jack can barely hear her over the roar of the wind. He shoots her a grin, but she doesn't turn around; he doesn't care.

The ride to Pitch's lair is exhilarating. Jack has only interacted with Katherine twice before: once, when he had first gone with Pitch and she had greeted him rather rudely, before vanishing on the spot; the second time, Pitch had informed Jack that she was their backup, which was followed by a minor introduction before once again she disappeared into the darkness.

Now, Jack feels much closer to her. When he gets the courage, he situates himself so that his back rests against hers. He's afraid—no, _terrified_ that she'll rip away, or spin around and slap him, but she doesn't. She just flinches and does nothing more. So Jack relaxes as he leans against her, and the wind crows next to him.

Jack closes his eyes, the picture of relaxation—and when he opens them again it is because the goose has come to a sudden stop. He yelps, nearly falling over, but Katherine grabs him by the arm and keeps him upright.

"We've arrived," she says, though from the furrow in her brow Jack can tell something is wrong. Jack nods in response, and she helps him down, before she too steps off of the great bird.

"Good girl," Katherine coos to the goose, stroking its head as though it were a dog. "Thank you for your help, Kailash."

The goose lets out a loud squawk, before it turns and it waddles into the large area that Jack knows is especially for it. He raises a brow, before he turns back to Katherine.

"All right," he says, folding his arms across his chest and hoping she's recovered his staff—but that's not important right now. "Tell me what's wrong."

She blinks at him. "What?" she asks, seeming aghast, and for a moment Jack cringes away, for she appears to be almost _offended_—but she is quick to change her body language, her shoulders sagging. "How did you know?" she murmurs, pulling her black hood over her eyes.

"I may be terrible when it comes to interacting," Jack says, trying to keep his tone upbeat, "but even I can tell what look means 'worried' and what doesn't. So tell me what's wrong."

Katherine gazes at him for a second, just one, as if examining him, before she gestures around them. "Before I left, this place was filled to the brim with activity. Fearlings large and small were gathering, and Pitch was at the heart of it all."

Jack nods, but when she doesn't continue, he prompts, "Aaand…?"

Katherine huffs and crosses her arms. "_And_," she says, "Pitch promised me that he'd wait for me to return with you. So, the question is…"

Jack understands. His eyes widen and he finishes for her: "Where did he go?"

"Where did _they_ go?" she adds.

And the only answer is the hollow cave echoing their sentiments.

* * *

**Elsa's Note**: ...I'm sorry this small update took forever. OTL I just really wanted to let you guys know that this story is alive!

Experimenting a bit with meshing the books with the movie... So, tell me what you think? Any and all comments are appreciated!


	5. Traitor

**Chapter Five**: Traitor

Jack is too pure, Katherine can tell – though Pitch has been using the Fearlings and the Nightmare Sand to manipulate him. Jack cannot become the Darkling Prince; if he truly succumbs to the darkness, he will join the ranks of the Fearlings, mindless and ravenous and fearsome.

Perhaps her own purity is what saved her—but maybe not. Maybe she was just lucky.

"Hey, Kat."

The nickname startles her, and she turns to see her new companion. Jack is leaning against a wall, tossing a snowball back and forth between his hands with a look of sheer boredom on his face.

She refuses to let them out to find Pitch—she will stay put until she receives further orders. Jack, in turn, seems to have odd ways of occupying himself.

Not that she can talk.

"Yes, Jack?" she asks, setting down the black book. The ink, her blood, pauses, the sentence unfinished.

"What does it mean?" he asks, and he looks at her now. She raises a brow.

"'It?'"

"What you said earlier—to the Guardians." Jack sits up straight, and Katherine notices something odd—his hair is a silvery gray rather than a snowy white. "You said you were the Darkling Princess. What exactly _is_ a Darkling?"

Katherine blinks. She hadn't been expecting him to be so observant.

"I assume you know what it is Pitch does," she begins as she turns back to her book. "With the children he corrupts?"

"They turn into Fearlings. Yeah, I know." It must be Pitch's influence that keeps him from rejecting the idea—Jack Frost would never agree to work with Pitch if he knew that.

"Well, it's kind of the same thing. Except I'm not brainless and I have my own source of power. Kind of."

"Oh?" Jack blinks and leans in, his snowball forgotten on the ground and already beginning to melt. "Why? What _is_ your source if it's not the same as Pitch's?"

Katherine frowns now—because she didn't expect Jack to be so curious, either. "Um… well, it's still derived from children's fear, in a way. But it's just not, uh, controlled by Pitch, I guess." What is it that he's searching for? "And—what do you mean, _why?"_

"_Why_ aren't you a mindless henchman?" Jack asks, and a frown flickers across his face, as if he's hesitant to show it. "And – and, will… _am_ I a Darkling?"

"No, you're not." Katherine shakes her head. "You're sort of in the process between a human and—uh, not one. Right now I can't tell if you're becoming a Fearling, a Darkling, or something else entirely."

Jack furrows his brow. "Then… how did _you_ become a Darkling?"

"I don't know." Katherine shrugs. "Luck, I guess. But I'm not really sure if—"

A sudden screech silences the both of them; Katherine spins on her heel, her eyes wide as the goose she rides charges toward them. It squawks and bucks in a violent or perhaps angry manner, and Katherine narrows her eyes as she notices the Fearling on the top of her goose's head.

"Kailash, hold still!" she calls as she jumps onto the large bird, making her way to the Fearling and snatching it in her hands before it can try to run. She glares at it, examining it, never moving from Kailash as the goose calms down.

"What?" Jack calls up to her, unable to see what's in her hands. "What is it, Kat? You find something?"

It's so odd, she thinks. The only instances that she's seen a Fearling bleed the dark matter that it is composed of is when it gets into a brawl with a moonbeam. But how? How can that be? Whenever Pitch went out, he was always sure to block the Man—

She gasps in realization and releases the Fearling, which disintegrates almost immediately after she does. Could it be? Could it possibly be that they were…

"We need to go." She slides down Kailash's head and to her torso, glancing down at Jack. "Get on! We've got to go help Pitch!"

Jack furrows his brow in confusion – and she couldn't blame him, after she'd been so stubborn about it before – before he jumps up and joins her. "What's changed?" he asks her.

"No time to explain," she replies. "Kailash, _skoree!"_

Jack yelps as Kailash bursts into a run, and he grabs onto Katherine. "Whoa!" he cries as Kailash makes for the exit. And after a moment of adrenaline surging through his body, he chuckles and releases Katherine; but Katherine can't hold back a smile as she shakes her head.

If only this was as fun for her as it had once been.

* * *

Jack clings to the feathers of Katherine's goose—Kailash, he has learned her name is—as they fly through the air. "Can you see them yet?" he calls, leaning as far as he dares over one side of her. All he can see is the continent beneath them, with burning bright lights as they pass over crowded cities.

"No, I can't," Katherine replies, her eyes squinting as she peers into the horizon. "It's all too dark—the Fearlings are everywhere, I can't tell what they're surrounding…"

Jack frowns and glances around them. Fearlings, she says—but where? It's dark, yes, for there are storm clouds billowing across the sky in such a way that the stars aren't visible, but he can't see head nor tail of the creatures she's referring to. "Where?" he asks at last.

Jack feels useless, or perhaps vulnerable. Why can't he see the godforsaken things?

"Up there." Katherine gestures above them, to the sky. "Whenever Pitch doesn't want to be seen, he commands his Fearlings to cover the moon. They mesh together and form a solid cloud—as solid as clouds can get, I suppose—and block the Man in the Moon's vision. Usually it's just one or two clouds, but right now it's…"

It's a big one, all right. Jack gulps and presses a hand against Katherine's shoulder, as if for added comfort. Though he can't see it, she smiles at the gesture.

And then there's a light—a hole in the veil above them, through which a thin sliver of a moonbeam is sent down to the earth. "There they are!" Katherine shouts, but before Jack can inquire as to how she knows, Kailash is spiraling down to meet it; Jack yelps and releases Katherine as he grasps the goose for dear life.

They land in a spot of the woods, just a few hundred meters north of where the moonbeam landed. Katherine helps Jack off in a hurry, rushing through the woods; Jack follows after her, keeping close in case the Guardians are nearby.

Sure enough, when they arrive at the scene, Pitch is fending off the Guardians with armies of Fearlings at his side; but Jack can tell that something's wrong. What's wrong? Why…

Why is Pitch on the defensive, when _he_ attacked _them_? What's—why is Pitch _losing?_ He and Katherine had worn the Guardians down only hours ago. This isn't right; there's a piece missing that they can't see, making it impossible to complete the puzzle.

"He needs help," Jack says when Katherine does nothing. Hidden here in the foliage, invisible to those in the clearing before them – why doesn't she make a sneak attack? "Come on, Kat, what are you waiting for?"

"Be quiet, Jack," she almost snaps, and her tone makes Jack bristle. She won't answer his question.

Is she… a traitor?

"_Kat,_" he tries again, and he grabs her arm. "Let's go."

She spins to him and sends a shocking punch to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him, before she kicks his legs out from underneath him. He yelps and groans, his head pounding from the contact with the ground. What in the world…? What was she _doing?_

His vision blurs as he stares up at Katherine, who in turn stares out at the clearing in front of them. He can't hear the battle—he's deafened, it seems, for the moment, and it hurts too much to get up. His eyes flutter closed, and he fights the unconscious as long as he can.

Then he feels a tug at his center, and it's as if the effect is gone; Katherine steps into the clearing and Jack scrambles to his feet.

He almost follows her, but looking out at where the battle had taken place, he sees that it's over. Pitch has fled, and the moon is starting to break through the clouds of fear above them.

He feels that tug again, like something's calling to him, but he refuses to heed it. Not until he sees what Katherine's doing.

She approaches the Guardians without hesitation or fear; she stops but a few meters away from the largest one, that North. And he gives her this look that might be remorse, but Jack can't tell from where he stands.

"Wait for me," Katherine says, and Jack's jaw drops. "You will wait, won't you?"

The Guardians glance to each other, and then Bunny steps up. "We don't exactly have a lot o' time _to_ wait," he replies. "Katherine, we're short on numbers. We almost lost this round. If Pitch strikes again…"

"I'll try to delay him as best I can," Katherine says, and the blood underneath Jack's skin begins to boil. "You all must find the Sandman, however you can. Without him—and by that extension, without Jack—your fight truly is lost."

Jack can't listen to this anymore. The tug is still insistent, but again he ignores it as he picks up his staff and takes to the air, soaring over the village with the wind as his only companion – just as it used to be.

He needs to calm down. That, more than anything. He can't be telling Pitch of Katherine's betrayal with tears in his eyes and choking back sobs, like he feels like he's doing now. Where can he go? _Is_ there somewhere that'll be good enough for him, that will help?

—The pond. Jack's eyes might have lit up at the thought of it in other circumstances. With everything that's been going on, he hasn't had a chance to return to it. Besides, the kids wouldn't mind another snow day.

"Wind," he says as he soars, hoping it doesn't notice the rawness of his voice, "take me home!"

The wind is only too happy to comply.

* * *

**Elsa's Note**: TAKE IT AH TAKE IT IT'S HOT HOT OFF THE PRESS HAHA. My beta has only just finished reading it. I love her to bits, btw. Crystal's helped me out with the ending so much I just uagh. I owe her so much. She's such a darling and without her, well, this story would suck a lot more. And by that I mean, more than it already does.

Anyway... please review? Comments and critique both welcome (I know I need it)!


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